Teen dies in car-semi wreck

FABIUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) – A teenager died and an adult was hurt following a crash involving a semi-truck and a passenger vehicle.

St. Joseph County sheriff’s deputies responded around 11 p.m. Feb. 7 to a crash near U.S. 131 and Broadway Road in Fabius Township.

The passenger of the car — Michael Gabriel Juan Willis, 13, from Three Rivers — was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

He was a front-seat passenger in a vehicle driven by his mother, 43-year-old Ida Beasley, who was transported by a medical helicopter to a hospital.

The driver of the semi-truck, 56-year-old Stephen Whiting from Niles, was uninjured.

Ida Beasley was driving on Broadway Road when her vehicle struck the truck, which was traveling north on U.S. 131, police said.

Everybody wore their seat belts, and alcohol was not a factor in the crash, according to a news release from police.

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The family of Michael Beasley-Willis released the following statement:

Michael was our loving son, brother, uncle, grandson and friend. Please continue to pray for his mother as she was severely injured. We appreciate the outpouring of support from the entire community and thank all the first responders. Funeral arrangements are pending and will be handled thru Hohner Funeral Home in Three Rivers. Please respect our privacy during this difficult time.